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1 - HKU Libraries - The University of Hong Kong

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Annex IA brief account <strong>of</strong> the Fireat Yue Wan Estateon 11 July 1995<strong>The</strong> fireIn the afternoon <strong>of</strong> 11 July 1995, an arsonattack occurred in Flat 515 <strong>of</strong> Yue Shun House, Yue WanEstate, Chai Wan. This attack, which led to a No. 3 firealarm fire, had caused three deaths and injured eightpersons. <strong>The</strong> incident attracted wide media coverage andallegations <strong>of</strong> delay in fire fighting due to coverage <strong>of</strong>the Emergency Vehicular Accesses (EVAs) and defectivefire fighting equipment in the Estate.2. At a joint press conference on 13 July 1995,Fire Services Department (FSD) and Housing Department(HD) clarified the location <strong>of</strong> the three EVAs in Yue WanEstate and that there was no delay in putting out thefire. However, there were accusations <strong>of</strong> a u cover-up" insome media coverage <strong>of</strong> the press conference, leading tocalls on the Government for an independent inquiry intothe incident.Report on the fire3. On 15 July 1995, the Secretary for Housingcalled for a full report from the Director <strong>of</strong> FireServices and the Director <strong>of</strong> Housing to establish exactlywhat happened, and in the light <strong>of</strong> that, consider whatlessons can be learnt. <strong>The</strong> published report covered thetwo specific areas <strong>of</strong> concern which had been raised,namely, the adequacy <strong>of</strong> EVA to Yue Wan Estate and thecondition <strong>of</strong> fire safety equipment there.Conclusions and recommendations <strong>of</strong> the report4. <strong>The</strong> findings <strong>of</strong> the report had revealed thatthe FSD and HD had acted in good faith throughout theincident but the way in which information wasdisseminated had created misunderstanding and that therewas scope for improvements to fire precaution measuresand the maintenance <strong>of</strong> fire service installations inpublic housing estates and better co-ordination betweenthe two departments.

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